Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation
Authors
Department of Architecture, Qa.c., Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
Historical bazaars in Iran are among the most important contexts for the formation of collective place identity. The Historical Bazaar of Qazvin, through its complex spatial organization, movement system, and physical structure, is considered a prominent example in the reproduction of place identity. This study aims to explain the impact of the formal structure of the Qazvin Bazaar on place identity, focusing on social interactions, territoriality, and visual sensitivity. The research adopts a qualitative, analytical–interpretive approach based on Herdeg’s framework of formal structure. Data were collected through documentary studies, field surveys, plan analysis, and a seven-axis reading of formal structure in four key nodes of the bazaar: Small Chahar Suq, Grand Chahar Suq, Sa’adat Square, and the Central Bazaar. To enhance the validity of the findings, the results were verified using Space Syntax analysis and Visual Graph Analysis (VGA) in Depthmap software, based on Global Integration, Local Integration, Choice, Connectivity, and Visual Integration indices. Findings illustrate that Small Chahar Suq strengthens micro-scale social interactions and local identity, Grand Chahar Suq enhances symbolic centrality and spatial integration, Sa’adat Square organizes urban-scale interactions and legibility, and the Central Bazaar connects the spatial network and maintains continuity of social flows. The results indicate the highest overlap between Herdeg’s framework and syntactic and visual measures in central, functional, movement-accessibility, and visual-spatial axes. In conclusion, place identity in the Historical Bazaar of Qazvin emerges from the interaction of formal structure, spatial organization, movement patterns, and visual perception, through the synergy of form, function, and meaning.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
The historic bazaar in an Iranian city is not merely considered a space for the exchange of goods and economic activity, but is regarded as one of the significant contexts for social life formation and cultural interactions. In Iran’s historic cities, the bazaar usually acts as the backbone of the city’s spatial organization, forming a coherent network of urban spaces by connecting key elements. This spatial and functional continuity causes the bazaar to be considered not only a site of economic activity, but also an arena for social interactions, the formation of collective memories, and the crystallization of the society’s cultural identity. Therefore, studying Iran’s historic bazaars from the perspective of the relationship between physical structure and place identity can provide a deeper understanding of identity qualities in historic urban spaces. The concept of place identity is considered one of the fundamental concepts in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and environmental psychology, referring to a set of features that make a place recognizable, meaningful, and distinct for its users. Place identity is formed as a result of the interaction among human, space, and meaning, and is reinforced through the users’ experiences. In other words, place identity is formed when the physical structure of the space can provide a suitable context for human activities, social interactions, and sensory and perceptual experiences. In such conditions, the space transcends the level of a mere physical form and transforms into a meaningful place to which users develop a sense of belonging, familiarity, and emotional attachment. Among the various elements that play a role in the formation of place identity, the formal structure of space is of particular importance. Formal structure refers to the manner of organizing physical elements, geometric relations, movement axes, access patterns, visual relations, and the spatial system of the environment. This structure can influence the way people move, the pattern of social interactions, the degree of spatial legibility, and the quality of visual perception. The historic Bazaar of Qazvin, as one of the most important traditional bazaars in Iran, is considered a valuable example for studying this relationship. This bazaar, which forms a significant part of the historic core of Qazvin city, has been formed and developed throughout various historical periods and encompasses a collection of rows (Rasteh), caravanserais (Sara), Timchehs, Charsouqs, and squares in the form of a continuous network of urban spaces. The spatial organization of the Qazvin Bazaar is based on main movement axes and a set of significant spatial nodes, each playing a specific role in guiding movement, distributing activities, and shaping the users’ spatial experience. In this regard, spaces such as the Small Charsouq, the Large Charsouq, Sa’adat Square, and Gerdeh Bazaar are considered among the most important spatial nodes of the bazaar, which, due to their central location, communicative role, and spatial qualities, have a significant impact on the bazaar’s spatial organization. To analyze the relationship between formal structure and place identity, the Herdeg formal structure theoretical framework is used. In this framework, architectural form is considered as a system of spatial and geometric relations that is formed through organizing axes, symmetry relations, movement structures, visual relations, and connecting spaces. These relations together create a unified structure that determines how users perceive and experience the space. On the other hand, the Space Syntax method has also been used to measure and analyze the spatial relations of the bazaar more accurately. Space Syntax analysis, using indices such as integration, choice, connectivity, and visual integration, allows for the examination of movement, access, and visibility patterns in architectural and urban spaces. Combining formal structure analysis with Space Syntax analysis can provide a comprehensive picture of how the spatial organization of the bazaar affects user experience and the formation of place identity. Based on this, the main goal is to investigate the effect of the formal structure of the physical elements and components of the historic Bazaar of Qazvin on place identity. In this regard, the research focuses on three main components of place identity, including social interactions, spatial territory, and visual sensitivity, and attempts to demonstrate how the spatial organization of the bazaar and its important nodes can provide the necessary conditions for the formation of these components. Studying this relationship can help to better understand the spatial mechanisms effective on place identity in historic bazaars and provide a basis for more informed planning and conservation of these valuable spaces.
Methodology
The research is categorized as applied study in terms of purpose, and has a qualitative-analytical nature in terms of research methodology. In addition, an attempt has been made to investigate the relationship between the formal structure of the physical elements of the historic Bazaar of Qazvin and place identity by combining theoretical and spatial analyses. To achieve this goal, the theoretical framework was formed based on the Herdeg formal structure theory, and spatial analyses were conducted utilizing the Space Syntax method and Visual Graph Analysis. In the first step, theoretical foundations related to the concepts of place identity, formal structure, and spatial organization of historic bazaars were studied, and accordingly, three main components of place identity, including social interactions, spatial territory, and visual sensitivity, were selected as the main indices of analysis. Then, using the Herdeg formal structure framework, a set of physical indices including central and functional axes, movement axes, symmetry axes, visual axes, and connecting spaces were defined to analyze the spatial structure of the bazaar. After selecting the study area, accurate maps and plans of the bazaar were prepared and analyzed, and its spatial structure was modeled in the Depthmap software. In this software, first, the axial map of the bazaar was drawn, and then Space Syntax analysis conducted to examine indices of global integration, local integration, choice, and spatial connectivity. These indices provided the possibility of analyzing the level of access, spatial centrality, and the probability of movement flow in different parts of the bazaar. Furthermore, Visual Graph Analysis (VGA) was also performed to examine the visual relations of the spaces. In this analysis, a network of viewpoints was defined in the bazaar plan, and indices such as visual integration and field of view were calculated. The results of this analysis exhibited which parts of the bazaar have the most connection and legibility in terms of vision. In the final stage, the results of the spatial analyses were reconciled with the qualitative analyses of the formal structure to determine the relationship between the spatial organization of the bazaar and the components of place identity. This reconciliation allowed the research to show how some bazaar spaces, due to their spatial location and physical features, play a more important role in forming social interactions, defining spatial territory, and creating a distinct visual experience.
Results and Discussion
The findings obtained from the formal structure analysis and spatial analyses indicate that the physical organization of the historic Bazaar of Qazvin follows a coherent and hierarchical structure in which movement axes, spatial nodes, and connecting spaces form a continuous network of spatial relations in interaction with each other. This spatial network, in addition to organizing movement and access in the bazaar, provides the necessary context for the formation of social interactions, environmental perceptions, and place identity reinforcements. Examining this structure within the Herdeg formal structure theoretical framework reveals that the physical elements of the bazaar are organized in the form of organizing axes including movement, visual, and functional axes, and each plays a specific role in guiding movement and enhancing spatial legibility. The results of Space Syntax analysis show that some parts of the bazaar possess a higher level of spatial integration, and consequently play an essential role in organizing movement and the gathering of people. In this regard, the Large Charsouq, due to being located at the intersection of the bazaar’s main routes, possesses the highest level of spatial integration and acts as a grave centers for social gathering and interaction. The physical structure of this space, including the intersection of four main paths has led to increased spatial legibility and the concentration of user perception at this point. The analysis of local integration also demonstrates that the Small Charsouq acts as a local node in the bazaar network and plays an effective role in distributing movement in its surrounding area. The presence of diverse commercial activities around this space and its connection with the main rows of the bazaar have caused this space to turn into one of the active and dynamic points in the bazaar, providing the ground for the formation of daily social interactions. On the other hand, the analysis of the choice index shows that Sa’adat Square plays a pivotal role in distributing movement flow in the bazaar. This square, due to its connection with several main and secondary routes of the bazaar, acts as a space for guiding movement and gathering of users. The open structure of this space, in comparison with the covered spaces of the bazaar rows, creates a kind of spatial diversity that helps increase the quality of the users’ environmental experience. The results of spatial connectivity analysis also indicate that Gerdeh Bazaar acts as one of the important connecting spaces in the bazaar structure and reinforces the continuity of the bazaar’s spatial network by connecting several movement paths. Visual Graph Analysis also reveals that spaces that have a wider field of view and more visual connection possess higher spatial legibility. In this regard, Charsouqs, due to their greater ceiling height, intersection of paths, and wide field of view, possess the highest level of visual integration and are registered as landmark points in the users’ spatial memory. Overall, the research results illustrates that the spatial structure of the Qazvin Bazaar, through the combination of movement axes, spatial nodes, and visual relations, provides the necessary conditions for the formation of various components of place identity, including social interactions, spatial territory, and visual sensitivity, and thereby leads to the reinforcement of the sense of belonging and environmental recognition among users.
Conclusion
This research aims to investigate the effect of the formal structure of physical elements and components of the historic Bazaar of Qazvin on place identity, utilizing Herdeg's formal structure theoretical framework and spatial analyses based on Space Syntax. The research results exhibit that the spatial structure of the Qazvin Bazaar follows a coherent and relatively hierarchical system, and this very spatial organization plays an indispensable role in forming the users’ spatial experience and reinforcing the identity qualities of the place. Based on the findings, the main movement axes and spatial nodes of the bazaar have a decisive role in organizing movement flow, the concentration of activities, and the formation of social interactions. In this regard, the Large Charsouq, due to its location at the intersection of the bazaar’s main axes and possession of spatial centrality and landmark physical features, is considered one of the most important points of activity concentration and social interaction in the bazaar structure. On the other hand, the existence of diverse spatial nodes in the Qazvin Bazaar has caused spatial diversity and dynamism in the bazaar structure. Spaces such as the Small Charsouq, Sa’adat Square, and Gerdeh Bazaar, each with different functions, play a role in distributing movement, connecting different parts of the bazaar, and forming social activities, and consequently are influential in the formation of collective experiences and the reinforcement of place identity. In summary, place identity in the historic Bazaar of Qazvin is the result of the interaction among physical structures, spatial organizations, and social activities. Accordingly, the spatial configuration of the Qazvin Bazaar—specifically its integration of pathways, focal points, and visual connections—cultivates the essential dimensions of place identity through encouraging social engagement, territorial definition, and visual perception. Therefore, in plans for the conservation and regeneration of historic bazaars, simultaneous attention to physical elements and the spatial relations between them is of great importance. Preserving important spatial nodes, continuing main movement axes, and reinforcing spatial legibility can play an effective role in preserving and reinforcing place identity in these historic spaces.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors’ Contribution
P. Sarraf Moayeri: First author, Literature review, conceptualization, data curation, modeling, validation, data analysis, preparation of the main manuscript, and editing. Prof. J. Soheili: Supervising professor and corresponding author, supervision, project administration, and formal analysis. Prof. K. Rahbari Manesh: Advising professor, project supervision.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive remarks.
Keywords
